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Posted 7/15/2006 3:27 AM (GMT 0)
is there anyone on here that does not take meds for their bipolar and how do you deal with it? Just curious...I thought ellie said she didnt take anything except klonopin. Okay thanx for the help!
Posted 7/15/2006 2:19 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, just klonopin for the time being. And at one time I went nearly 15 years without meds. No klonie, no nothing. I have normal periods that I just don't think I need them. Now "I don't think" may be the key phrase here. During those periods I still have many more mood swings than the average person and am more prone to irritability. But I do seem to be able to make do for extended periods, not everyone can, much depends on the severity of the illness.
Right now I'm fluctuating wildly and am going back into the dr. later this month if I can get in on a cancellation. I don't think I'm bpI, more likely a II, I'm just irritable, and snappy right now, not out of control, but I want to make sure this doesn't get unmanagable.
Take Care
Ellie
Posted 7/17/2006 6:02 AM (GMT 0)
Having dealt with an unmedicated Schizophrenic husband for many years (yes, it was "fun") I know how "blind" to their own needs and behaviors the mentally ill can get! How do you stay off meds AND keep your "judgement" in tact. All the writers of these posts seem so sane and objective. No one seems to be off their rocker at all! Can a Bipolar get to the point of where he or she can trust themselves to know when to take the meds and when they don't need them??
Posted 7/17/2006 12:29 PM (GMT 0)
I still see a pdoc on a regular basis for evaluation and I'm also in regular therapy. If things start getting out of whack, and I'm unaware, they're sure to clue me in. Usually I know when things are getting bad though. Mostly due to the fact that sleep becomes a real issue. And the irritability can be intense.
Take Care
Ellie
Posted 7/17/2006 7:55 PM (GMT 0)

I recently went off of my meds, and have been without them for two months. It hasnt been easy, and I am much more hard to understand than the average women (my poor poor husband), however, I do beleive I am getting to be better as time goes on. Of course, I am a BPII, and a less severe case at that. On top of all of this, I have attended therapy for 6 years now. I miss it dearly.

In any case, it is possible for some, if the right things are in place. Im finding that a therapist would help, and having support from family is even more important if you decide to manage without meds. Your family needs to be there for you at all times, so they can tell you if you have completely lost it. I am also finding that adequate sleep, better nutrition (I really have to be good about this one) and exercise has helped me become more stable.

Hope that this helps you all out.

Rock

Posted 7/18/2006 6:32 AM (GMT 0)
My son wants to go off his meds. But that's NOT going to happen anytime soon! However, I'm glad to know that it is possible.

I hope more people "in the know" will respond to this interesting thread!!
Posted 7/18/2006 8:43 PM (GMT 0)
Not being on any meds works for some people, but it sure didn't work for me. Now that I know what it feels like to be on meds and without, I don't want to go back. I realized that I am more myself on meds than not. For without them I had major mood swings. It doesn't mean that everyone reacts that way. Some people do fine without anything. they excersize, eat right and take vitamins, and that is enough for them. I guess I am not one of those people.
Posted 7/20/2006 7:09 AM (GMT 0)
I sure would like to hear some more about vitamins and foods avoided and such, know what I mean? I want to be ready! These meds have so many side effects and my son's Psychologist says if he doesn't need them it's best he get off them IF he reaches that point.
Posted 7/20/2006 6:25 PM (GMT 0)
I stopped taking my meds now for 2 weeks. they made me sick and dizzy, sleepy. I can tell I am getting my crying spells back and everything upsets me. I hate being sick on the pills. I have told my doc about it but she keeps me on them. She does not know I have gone off. I don't know if I should tell her because she might get mad at me. I am scared of her. don't know why..it is just me.
AnnaDee
Posted 7/20/2006 7:12 PM (GMT 0)
You definately need to tell your dr. that you are off your meds. There's no point in having a doc if you aren't consulting her. I know the meds are difficult, and pdoc's can be intimidating. Just give it a shot AnnaDee. They can't make you take anything you don't want and maybe theres a med out there that wont make you sick. You just haven't found it yet.
Take Care
Ellie
Posted 7/20/2006 10:16 PM (GMT 0)
Gosh, I know what you mean! My son's Doctor is pleasant enough, even "fun" to talk to but I get this underlining impression that she knows it all and we're just suppose to "hear and obey". Our Psychologist is the opposite. Yes, I'm intimadated by our Psychiatrist. She seems to want my son on Meds for the rest of his life no matter how they affect him! Matt doesn't like her at all and I'm considering letting him go off the meds and "can" the doc too! LOL (But keep the psychologist)
Posted 7/20/2006 10:23 PM (GMT 0)

I'm only taking Ativan right now, due to allergies to most other mood stabilizers.  Lithium worked for me for 15 years until it damaged my kidneys.  I feel fairly stable at the moment, but the future doesn't look very good.  There are research studies that show only 10% of people who discontinue longterm lithium use remain stable after 3  years.  Most have a relapse, with average hospitalization stay of 66 days.  Not exactly a rosy future.

My pdoc will be discharging me in a month, and I need to find a good therapist for supportive care.  Without support, my chances will be even less. 

However, I have learned strategies to avoid stress and overstimulation, while being able to hold onto my job, which is a great support in itself. 

Posted 7/22/2006 6:44 PM (GMT 0)
anna, i need to chime in on this one.  INTIMIDATED by an employee?  the doctor works for you. you don't work for him.  you or (if you're lucky) your insurance company pays the doctor.  whenever i go to a new doctor, for any reason, i make it a point to call them by their first name.  my pdoc is called joe o jose depending upon whether or not he p...d me off for some eason.  my gp is mario.  my psycologist (who really hates this) is joseph or joe, depending upon whether or not he p.....d me off.  i don't use their first names all the time - in fact rather seldom.  but i want the playing field evened.

try it.  the form of address that is used infuses states.  use of a title and a last name gives the hightest status possible.  which is why doctors insist on being called "Dr. Smith."  i don't buy it.  some say you can get the information necessary for a medical degree on the intenet.  God knows i've learned more about my conditions from this web site than i have been able to mine from my doctors.

Sorry about the rant.  hit a raw nerve.  but think about it anyway.  stay focused.  you're there for the doctor's educated input.  that's all ha/she can provide.  the decisions are yours alone.

Posted 7/23/2006 5:13 AM (GMT 0)
Wmnak...Thank you for the input. Your "rants" help us to see things from a different perspective! You make sense but so does Anna. I think many of us are used to respecting these doctors to a fault and we need a little "balance" between that respect and our own rights...Also, some of us have been through the wringer emotionally and being "intimadated" is something we face often.
Posted 7/23/2006 1:11 PM (GMT 0)

af and all,

glad that my rant had the desired efffect on at least one person!:)  LIGHTEN UP about DOCS.  they're just people like you and me.  when i was in college (more years ago than i care to remember) my neighbor was a last-year med student.  we got drunk countless times together and moaned and groaned about the state of our university, the state of the USA (viet nam era), and the generral state of the sucking world.  ed told me that a doctor's diagnosis, therapy, and prognosis are all a "best guess."  he said that we pay for the professional advice, just like with a lawyer.  a lawyer doesn't read every jury correctly and doesn't win every case.  similarly, a doctor doesn't diagnose every case correctly, prescribe every patient corectly, or prognosticate every case correctly.  they're fallable.  they aren't gods (no matter what the AMA wants you to believe).  they're human.  they eventually die just like the rest of us.

ed was a good friend.  we lost touch after i got my ma and he got his md.  i miss our chats.  i learned a lot from him.  it's nice having a friend who is a dr.  :)

sorry for another rant, af.  i got carried away to days before debilitating chronic pain and its adjunct, bi-polar disorder and severe depession.  you are spot on about being through an emotional wringer.

god bless.

Posted 7/23/2006 3:39 PM (GMT 0)
Regarding being in that wringer, (is that the right spelling??) I keep looking for that "towel" to throw in...but I can never find it! Maybe that's for the best. I'm blaaahh this morning. Too much emotional wrestling with my teenager. HE better not start calling ME Diane!
Posted 7/23/2006 4:51 PM (GMT 0)
I have BP and went off my lithium and the 4 other drugs they gave me to "control" my condition. I have since found that the only real difference between meds or no meds is that with out I'm a little crabby some times, However in the 3 weeks I have been off my meds I have lost 18 pounds (this i feel overrides the crabby) also the weightloss in the end will most likely keep me from becoming diabetic.
Crabby or diabetic....... I'll take crabby!!!!!!!
Posted 7/24/2006 8:13 PM (GMT 0)
i tried throwing in the towel about six years ago.  i was in pain beyond description from a quack's botched attempt at an epidural steroid injection.  fortunately, my wife stopped me before i got too many pills down.  that's what led to pdocs, lithium, etc.  not having much fun, but dealing with it all day to day.

suzi, my step-daughter, grandkids and geat grandkids all call me by my first name.  what's wrong with that? lol  come to think of it, my brother, sisterr, and i all called my our father by his first name. 

with my wife and several of my friends being diabetic, i might be tempted to switch meds for crabbie and weight loss with less chance for diabetis, too!  i'm not recommending, just observing.

Posted 7/24/2006 9:56 PM (GMT 0)
I was refering to the post a few posts up where you refered to doctors by their first names to "put them in their place" LOL...At least Matt, my son, still calls me mom thus denoting that he still respects me a little bit...not to say you didn't respect your dad...Heck,lol, you know what I mean, LOL.
Posted 7/25/2006 8:52 PM (GMT 0)
afmondianne,

i'm glad your child still calls you "mom."  i think that's great.  and i'm sure that you are fully deserving of the respect that the he is showing you.

actually there is unbelievable love in the way the kids call me "warren."  when my youngest granddaughter introduces me she says, "and this is my warren."  my wife is just known to everybody as "granny." 

in fact, i had no respect for my father.  he was a selfish abusive prig.  i still loved him as my father, though.  as a kid i just wished and prayed that he would lost the selfishness and abusiveness.  my wishes and prayes were never answered, though.  my mantra was, "god never puts more on you than you can handle."  i'm scarred, but still vertical rather than horrizontal.  i guess i lived through it.

by the way, no dr has ever said anything about my using their first name and my gp seems very comfortable with it.  of course i am 30 years older than most of them, too. tongue

Posted 7/26/2006 1:03 AM (GMT 0)
Oh by the way, I'm a Diabetic and it's not that bad once you learn the ropes. I hardly even think about it anymore.
Posted 7/26/2006 2:28 AM (GMT 0)
af,

you sound like my wife about the diabetis.  i get more upset when her blood sugar goes up than she does.  she keeps reminding me that it's "under control."  she takes glucophage for hers.  at least she isn't insulin dependent.

Posted 7/31/2006 10:11 AM (GMT 0)
I was diagnosed with Bi-Polar at 30 years.....was put on a tonne of meds and now at 36 I'm drug free....I think the solution is to really learn about your triggers, learn about you as a person, learn about the illness but don't live, breathe and work mental health, create a positive support group, think the positve, help yourself.....and above all be yourself 
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